Impressions of Walton - Letters 1-3
My first impression of Walton from his first letter is how affectionate he is. This is because the first thing he does when he arrived in St Petersburgh is to "assure my dear sister of my welfare" which not only displays his intimate relationship with his sister as he calls her "dear", but also that he wishes to relieve her anxiety, thus showing that he is caring. This is also backed up in his second letter when he concludes with "I love you very tenderly."
I am also under the impression that Walton is extremely enthusiastic about his adventures which is evident when he describes St Petersburgh to "brace my nerves, and fill me with delight". His enthusiasm about his adventure extends to the point where he doesn't even fear death "they are sufficient to conquer all dear of danger or death" which also shows that he enjoys a thrilling experience.
In his second letter however, he appears more down about his travels due to his expressed wishes of a friend "I bitterly feel the want of a friend" showing that he is lonely and while he is excited about his adventure "I am glowing with the enthusiasm of success" it is still important that he shares this "joy" with someone.
Thursday, 29 November 2012
Monday, 26 November 2012
Frankenstein - Mary Shelly
Mary Shelly
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was the daughter of the philosopher William Godwin and the writer Mary Wollstonecraft, who wrote “Vindication of the Rights of Woman” (1792)At age 18 Shelley ran off with Percy Bysshe Shelley (kinky), a leading British Romantic poet, who she married in 1816. The couple had a son, but after her husband died in a shipwreck in 1822, Mary Shelley fell into poverty. She continued to write fiction to support herself. Frankenstein (1818) was her first and by far her most successful work of fiction.
Frankenstein
A gothic novel set in Switzerland, France, England, Scotland, and the North Pole in the 18th century.
Frankenstein is told through a few layers of first person narratives. Walton is the primary narrator, who then recounts Victor’s first-person narrative. In addition, Victor’s narrative contains the monster’s first person story as well as letters from other characters.
Refer to Hannah's Blog for more details (I'm assuming she's written a million pages as per)
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was the daughter of the philosopher William Godwin and the writer Mary Wollstonecraft, who wrote “Vindication of the Rights of Woman” (1792)At age 18 Shelley ran off with Percy Bysshe Shelley (kinky), a leading British Romantic poet, who she married in 1816. The couple had a son, but after her husband died in a shipwreck in 1822, Mary Shelley fell into poverty. She continued to write fiction to support herself. Frankenstein (1818) was her first and by far her most successful work of fiction.
Frankenstein
A gothic novel set in Switzerland, France, England, Scotland, and the North Pole in the 18th century.
Frankenstein is told through a few layers of first person narratives. Walton is the primary narrator, who then recounts Victor’s first-person narrative. In addition, Victor’s narrative contains the monster’s first person story as well as letters from other characters.
Refer to Hannah's Blog for more details (I'm assuming she's written a million pages as per)
Thursday, 27 September 2012
Comedy in Faustus
In our last English lesson we looked at Act 1 Scene 4 of Dr Faustus. This scene is a comic scene slap-bang in the middle of the rather more serious business of Faustus selling his soul to the devil Mephistopheles. We looked at what we ourselves defined as comedy and then read the scene. In the scene, which comes directly after Faustus has first met Mephistopheles, the character Wagner is trying to convince a new character called Robin, who is a clown, to commit to his service. So the situation between Wagner and Robin is similar with that of Faustus gaining Mephistopheles' service in return for giving his soul to him. However this scene is supposed to be funny, indeed the fact that straight away Robin is called a clown shows the audience that he is meant to be seen as comical. The two have a bit of a comical debate which includes many a play on words and to be honest my sides were splitting by the end of it. OK sarcasm is sweet. =P
Anyway so we tried to think of ideas as to why this scene has been included where it has, or at all. As I have mentioned it takes place between two very serious scenes which are crucial to the play, and it doesn't fit in. Faustus has just met Mephistopheles when this scene takes place and in the scene that succeeds it he actually confirms the deal to sell his soul to the devil.
One reason why this scene could be here is simply to relieve tension in the audience, although I believe this to be a relatively weak interpretation. However when talking about comedy we said it can often relieve tension and make us feel relaxed, so Marlowe could have put this scene in to make the audience re-engage with the performance after a scene that would have created tension over it's controversial religious context.
However I think a stronger interpretation of this scene is that it is supposed to act as a parallel to the situation Faustus is in, and therefore help to almost mock Faustus. For example, the clown Robin, a comical and seemingly uneducated character makes the sensible decision to refuse Wagner's offer and not commit to being his servant. This sets the way for a comparison with Faustus as in the next scene he makes his fateful decision. So by presenting Robin in this way Marlowe makes Faustus out to be even more of a fool, as despite all his arrogance and intelligence he isn't as sensible as a mere clown who is of no where near the same academic standing that Faustus is.
So yeah there's just a few thoughts about Act 1 Scene 4, I can't go into too much detail about why the scene is there because to be honest I'm not sure. For example the strongest I could think of was to expose how a clown is seemingly more sensible than Faustus, however this doesn't really fit with the points I thought Marlowe was trying to get across in previous scenes. Though I suppose he could be showing a different side and exploiting how those who are academic are listened to straight away when in reality they sometimes lack common sense. This could relate to how the common people of the time would accept everything the clergy etc told them as they were considered intellectuals.
That was a quickie ;)
Anyway so we tried to think of ideas as to why this scene has been included where it has, or at all. As I have mentioned it takes place between two very serious scenes which are crucial to the play, and it doesn't fit in. Faustus has just met Mephistopheles when this scene takes place and in the scene that succeeds it he actually confirms the deal to sell his soul to the devil.
One reason why this scene could be here is simply to relieve tension in the audience, although I believe this to be a relatively weak interpretation. However when talking about comedy we said it can often relieve tension and make us feel relaxed, so Marlowe could have put this scene in to make the audience re-engage with the performance after a scene that would have created tension over it's controversial religious context.
However I think a stronger interpretation of this scene is that it is supposed to act as a parallel to the situation Faustus is in, and therefore help to almost mock Faustus. For example, the clown Robin, a comical and seemingly uneducated character makes the sensible decision to refuse Wagner's offer and not commit to being his servant. This sets the way for a comparison with Faustus as in the next scene he makes his fateful decision. So by presenting Robin in this way Marlowe makes Faustus out to be even more of a fool, as despite all his arrogance and intelligence he isn't as sensible as a mere clown who is of no where near the same academic standing that Faustus is.
So yeah there's just a few thoughts about Act 1 Scene 4, I can't go into too much detail about why the scene is there because to be honest I'm not sure. For example the strongest I could think of was to expose how a clown is seemingly more sensible than Faustus, however this doesn't really fit with the points I thought Marlowe was trying to get across in previous scenes. Though I suppose he could be showing a different side and exploiting how those who are academic are listened to straight away when in reality they sometimes lack common sense. This could relate to how the common people of the time would accept everything the clergy etc told them as they were considered intellectuals.
That was a quickie ;)
Monday, 10 September 2012
The Chorus in Doctor Faustus
What are the audience's impressions at the end of the chorus?
The chorus in a play is used to tell the audience what to expect from the play and gives a brief summary of what will happen, for example, in Romeo and Juliet, the audience is told at the beginning of the play that the pair of "star-crossed lovers" will die. However, in Doctor Faustus the ending is not revealed, which ultimately removes the inevitability of the ending. Therefore, at the end of the chorus the audience feel confused as to what to expect which adds to the mystery of the play.
The chorus also tries to persuade the audience to reserve their judgement/impressions of Faustus and encourages them to empathise with him. However, the chorus does this telling the audience to have "patient judgments" and the fact that the chorus has to warn them to not judge Faustus straight away, it automatically does the reverse, making the audience believe that Faustus will do wrong and makes them judge him quickly anyway.
Sunday, 9 September 2012
Catholics and Protestants.
Why was there tension between Catholics and Protestants in Renaissance/Elizabethan England?
There was tension between Catholics and Protestants as a result of the Reformation. The reformation begun/began (never know which one it is!) in the 1500s when Martin Luther, a German Monk, nailed his 95 Theses to the door of a church in Wittenburg (Hamlet went to uni there). So this 95 Theses significantly rejected "indulgences" - these were pieces of paper which you could buy if you had sinned which forgave your sins so you would still get to go to Heaven. Luther was all like "Mate, that's not cool" 'cause it was a violation of confession and penance.
Luther created Protestantism (notice the word "protest" in the word? That's because he was protesting! Coincidence?) which was all the Catholics who agreed with him and his 95 Theses.
In England, King Henry VIII wanted to get a divorce so he could marry Anne Boleyn but the Pope wouldn't let him, which is when England became Protestant. Henry didn't want to convert to Protestantism because he believed in Martin Luther's protest, but because he wanted to become "Supreme Head of the English Church", by doing so he was able to divorce Catherine of Aragon by his own will. Consequently this began the 150 year conflict between Catholics and Protestants.
I forgot about the 100 word limit.
I'm sad now.
I forgot about the 100 word limit.
I'm sad now.
Sunday, 19 August 2012
Frankenstein
I started reading Frankenstein the night after our AS exam (RAGE RAGE RAGE at the memory of that exam!!) as I got it for free on my Kindle!! How great is that! Francis, if you don't have one, I'd deffs recommend a Kindle - you can get loads of classics for free and other books are much cheaper than paper and hard backs! You can also get newspapers! Jeez, you'd think I work on commission for Amazon.
ANYWAY.
When I started reading, I was so confused to what I was actually reading because I was reading letters from a sailor. I was thinking, "I did not think that Frankenstein or his monster was a sailor" so I kind of gave up reading for a while. THEN at the end of Sir Brannagh's Frankenstein when it ended with that sailor, it suddenly clicked! and I got into the book because I understood it.
What is also good about reading this book on a Kindle is when I don't understand a word (which is often) you can click that word and the kindle defines the word! It's wonderful!
The letters did confuse me a bit when the sailor spoke about the man they had taken aboard because I just couldn't work out whether it was Frankenstein or the monster. I really like the way the book begins with the letters from the sailor thought because it describes the condition of Frankenstein after he has created the monster and how it had affected him. Readers are provided with a detailed description of his appearance which we may not be provided with when the book is written through the eyes of Frankenstein.
When Frankenstein begins his story it is a bit boring learning about all his childhood and so on for a few chapters - it is only when he goes off to Uni when the real story of the monster begins.
That'll do.
P.s:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0051QVF7A/ref=amb_link_170675047_2?ie=UTF8&nav_sdd=aps&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=1G4SXYDRY4RXXRV5HSSK&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=317900367&pf_rd_i=468294
ANYWAY.
When I started reading, I was so confused to what I was actually reading because I was reading letters from a sailor. I was thinking, "I did not think that Frankenstein or his monster was a sailor" so I kind of gave up reading for a while. THEN at the end of Sir Brannagh's Frankenstein when it ended with that sailor, it suddenly clicked! and I got into the book because I understood it.
What is also good about reading this book on a Kindle is when I don't understand a word (which is often) you can click that word and the kindle defines the word! It's wonderful!
The letters did confuse me a bit when the sailor spoke about the man they had taken aboard because I just couldn't work out whether it was Frankenstein or the monster. I really like the way the book begins with the letters from the sailor thought because it describes the condition of Frankenstein after he has created the monster and how it had affected him. Readers are provided with a detailed description of his appearance which we may not be provided with when the book is written through the eyes of Frankenstein.
When Frankenstein begins his story it is a bit boring learning about all his childhood and so on for a few chapters - it is only when he goes off to Uni when the real story of the monster begins.
That'll do.
P.s:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0051QVF7A/ref=amb_link_170675047_2?ie=UTF8&nav_sdd=aps&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=1G4SXYDRY4RXXRV5HSSK&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=317900367&pf_rd_i=468294
The Bloody Chamber
So it's like half way through the holiday and this is my first blog, but NO FEAR! I have still been reading.
At this stage, I'm like half way through the Bloody Chamber but just to amuse you Francis I'll pretend I have just started.
So, I've just finished the first book in The Bloody Chamber which just so happens to also be called The Bloody Chamber. I think that's a little biased, don't you?
My first thought when I finished this short book was, "wow, a third of an exam just on 43 pages! Score!" Until someone burst my little bubble and told me there was still 9 other books within this book. Boo! :(
However, I did enjoy this short story, despite Francis already ruining it for us all in lesson when he summarised it to us (which I believe was for the soul purpose that he could say the C-word to us all, but hey-ho)
What I liked about this story was the mother's role in the story. The story, you would assume, is about a newly-wed couple, however, the story begins with the bride's/narrator's memory of her mother and ends with her mother saving the narrator and the mother is also featured throughout the story through phone calls and memories. The mother is portrayed to be a strong woman, notable because she raised her daughter single-handedly following the death of her husband (who was like this soldier man, so she probs learned a thing or two from him --- and she stole/kept his gun - perhaps she knew she would need it)
THE CHOKEY! Killed fresh wife. Yum
FRESH MEAT
inabit.
At this stage, I'm like half way through the Bloody Chamber but just to amuse you Francis I'll pretend I have just started.
So, I've just finished the first book in The Bloody Chamber which just so happens to also be called The Bloody Chamber. I think that's a little biased, don't you?
My first thought when I finished this short book was, "wow, a third of an exam just on 43 pages! Score!" Until someone burst my little bubble and told me there was still 9 other books within this book. Boo! :(
However, I did enjoy this short story, despite Francis already ruining it for us all in lesson when he summarised it to us (which I believe was for the soul purpose that he could say the C-word to us all, but hey-ho)
What I liked about this story was the mother's role in the story. The story, you would assume, is about a newly-wed couple, however, the story begins with the bride's/narrator's memory of her mother and ends with her mother saving the narrator and the mother is also featured throughout the story through phone calls and memories. The mother is portrayed to be a strong woman, notable because she raised her daughter single-handedly following the death of her husband (who was like this soldier man, so she probs learned a thing or two from him --- and she stole/kept his gun - perhaps she knew she would need it)
inabit.
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